The Red King

Everyone loves a good dumpster fire, so of course Dallas is in the spotlight. Also remember the Bills have been the face of medioric futility for decades. It's going to take more time and effort to change people's minds outside of our fan base. Yesterday went a long way to getting there, but to many it's still the Buffalo Bills.

Division leaders are automatically slotted 1-4. Buffalo, as top wild card, would be 5th.

The Ravens game helps if we were able to somehow claw back into the divisional race. One tiebreaker is the combined record of all wins. Beating Baltimore would be huge, as the Pats lost to them. In addition, if we somehow won the AFCE, that win against the Ravens would provide a head-to-head tiebreaker for seeding. Crazy as it sounds, if anyone else beats the Pats, and the Bills run the table, they would be the #1 seed in the AFC. Thought it was the other way around. For AFC foes, you want them to have worse conference records. It's how the Chargers missed the playoffs two years ago.

All white. Helmet, mask, all of it. I want this on Thurs.

Why not white pants? I hate when the jersey and pants atlre the same color, and the helmet is something else. Had the same issue with the '90s road unis, which are an invert of this.

Actually reminds me a lot of Peyton's last season. Denver won the whole thing, but it was clear the defense did the heavy lifting and Manning was out of gas. I think Brady believed everything he said going into this season, but as the season goes on, this might be it. I think Tom's just hoping to limp into another ring before he rides off into the sunset. Have you seen the AFCE opponents next season? No way he wants to run that gauntlet. And even the division itself looks to give him more trouble. TB may have been elusive, but no man escapes the ravages of age. I honestly think this is it.

When arguing who's to blame, remember it could well be "All of the above". Josh and Haush struggled, our O coordinator called a bad game, not running on a bad run defense. Ultra-conservative play-calling on both sides of the ball with a gunslinger QB. This loss does not fall on just one thing.

Game on the line, one team played soft, prevent D. One played aggeessive D. What did we lean here today, kids? ?

As I said before, it's all about the clicks. Put yourself in the mindset of a writer for, say, nfl.com. You're not getting paid for the spirit of the game, or journalistic integrety. You're being paid for clickable articles. What can you write, good or bad, about the Bills that is clickable? "Bills win another game with good defense and nothing explosive or eye-catching!". Even teams with worse records, like the Browns and Jets, get more articles because they have big-name players on dumpster-fire teams, and people love dumpster fires! Those articles get clicks. It's not like it was in the past. Viewers/readers in this day and age can choose their news. In the past, it was offered like a three-course meals and people consumed it all. Now, it's like a buffet and no matter how that particular side might be, not many people are gonna eat it if it doesn't catch the eye.

We're not exciting. There is no story. We live in a clickbait society. It's not about your record as much as it is your sexiness. Had we beaten the Patriots? Scrappy upstarts? Future kings of the AFC East? Cinderella team? ...but we didn't. We beat a bunch of bottom feeders. *yawn* There's no *story* there. We have no all-star dominant player to fawn over. No 300-yard passer, no 100-yard rusher. We don't score tons of points. So...if you're the media, where's the hook? Why should people nationally care about this team? The Bills just aren't sexy right now...so you're not going to hear much about them. If the Bills want the media to stop sleeping on them...they need to stop putting them to sleep.

...yep. And I have since been proven right to be skeptical.

Yeah, I remember catching all kinds of hell for wanting to actually see the product on the field before declaring the Browns an elite team. ?

I think some people are missing the OP's point. It's not that people believe we're gonna run the table. It's more, can we just stop and appreciate where we are right now? Halfway into the season and instead of talking about how tenacious our playoff chances are, we're still in a position where we could still win the division and even top seed, however unlikely. Yes, the Bills could collapse. I'll worry about that if and when it happens. Let's say the Bills utterly collapse and lose out. When the season is over, I'll have enjoyed half the season and lamented the other. The naysayers here will have hated all of it. Who got more enjoyment out of the season in total?

Nobody here thinks the Bills are some kind of juggernaut that are going to crush everyone in their path. They have weaknesses, things that will make any fan reach for the Pepto. But at the same time... ...the Bills are 6-2. Let that sink in. At the midpoint they are 6-2, with one loss coming to the Pats, a game most of us would have expected them to lose. The Bills right now are in a position teams like the Browns and Jets are envious of. Before the season, I think we would all have been thrilled at the prospect of 6-2. And yet, now that we're here some fans can't just bring themselves to enjoy the ride. They won't be happy until Buffalo is a completely dominant team, steamrolling opponents. I mean, you don't hear San Fran fans bitching about close wins, and they only barely edged these same Skins 9-3 if I recall. 6-2. Shh...just go with it.

Remember before the season a bunch of so-called experts insisted Cleveland was an AFC contender? Vegas and the media aren't ready to give up that narrative yet. Yeah, this is a slap in the face to the Bills, but in the end it's about the betting line.

I defy anyone to defend Daboll. This play calling has been horrific. Designed running play to a QB who keeps fumbling?

Tackling drills. Run the whole damn D through them. For hours. Way too many yards after contact. Our D just got humiliated. They should be embarrased and ashamed.

Defense couldn't stop a running nose today... >.<

The Hoodie was out for blood. He wanted to rattle and ruin the young QBs in his division. He gameplanned well and set to ruin Darnold, Allen and Rosen. Rosen was already a wreck. Allen rattled early, but recovered. That's why NE had to try and decapitate him before he mounted a comeback. Darnold...well...mission accomplished. Belli got into his head, set up a lawn chair and cracked open a cold one. It was psychological warfare, and Darnold was utterly ruined.

Having to perform constant late comebacks, even against bad teams, was the hallmark of the early SB Bills, lest you forget, nobody circles the wagons like? I mean c'mon, they were called the Cardiac Kids for awhile. Just win, baby.

Pft. The refs were terrible. Everyone knows the Pats don't commit penalties. Ever. ?

He can win. So long as the game remains close, no matter how bad he's looked, he can win. He's shown it several times this year and still believe he could have won the NE game, had NE not cheap-shotted him out of it. Can't lead a comeback when in concussion protocol.

Anyone down on the Bills for yesterday, can I point out the Bills only lost by 6 to NE, with our QB knocked out? Nobody else this season's even come close.

5-1. Good teams find ways to win. Today was ugly, but in the end this team picked themselves up and did what they had to. It wasn't pretty, but we won by 10. I mean, is everyone freaking out over the 49ers only beating Washington by 9? Just win, baby.

Actually, Fred tried to score and it was initially ruled a TD. Then the refs talked it over and had him down at the 1. I remember the hoodie going berserk on the sideline because he knew that meant the Bills could now run down the clock and kick the FG to win. He knew had it been a TD, the Bills would have the lead, but at least Brady would have gotten the ball back.